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Quality Energy Performance Contracting
Contractor of the Year and
BPI Accreditation
|  Performing an accurate energy audit and developing an action plan from the energy report are the important first steps in the energy improvement process.
However, the recommended projects need to be completed properly to obtain the full benefits of savings on energy bills, improved comfort and health, and reduced impact on the environment.
You can rely on TerraLogos for all your energy improvement contracting needs. For the second straight year, the Maryland Energy Administration has named Terralogos Energy Group Contractor of the Year in the MD Home Performance with Energy Star Program.
As
a Building Performance Institute (BPI) Gold Star Accredited
Contracting Company, all work performed by TerraLogos must adhere to strict
protocols governed by building science. This whole-building approach has been
proven to yield the best results.
In addition, BPI provides 3rd
party quality assurance for all contracting work performed by accredited
companies. Both BPI and the EPA's Energy
Star Program endorse the full-service audit and contracting company model as
the most cost-effective approach for delivering building performance upgrades.
TerraLogos is also the top performer in the BGE Home Performance with Energy Star program, delivering more incentive dollars to homeowners than any other company. We are also an approved contractor in the new Pepco and SMECO Home Performance Programs and can access the incentives available to their customers.
At TerraLogos, we make it easy for you to obtain the best results for the least cost. Take advantage of our Summer Audit Discount to start the process towards energy savings today.
Summer Audit Discount:
BPI Certified Home Energy Audit
regular $495 - Discount $450**
Audits must be scheduled by 8/31
Save $Money$ 3 ways: - Save immediately on your audit with our Summer Discount.
- Access the Home Performance Incentives from BGE, Pepco & SMECO to receive up to $1,000 or more towards qualified improvements.
- Save 20-50% on your energy bills after performing your recommended improvements.
Customers who have completed their recommended energy improvement projects have shared their stories with us, indicating up to 50% savings on energy bills. Plus, their homes are more comfortable and healthy for their families. Read their stories here.
to schedule your Energy Audit.
Trust TerraLogos as your partner for improving
the energy efficiency of all types of buildings.
**Prices are designed for all types of homes up to
approximately 3,000 sq. ft. and within 40 miles of
Baltimore City. Additional charges may apply for
larger homes and greater distances.
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Governor's Green Economy Forum
Promoting the switch to Energy Efficiency
|  TerraLogos was honored to be included on the Governor's Roundtable Panel at the July 14 official
unveiling of the Green Jobs and Industry Task Force report.
The Roundtable, consisting of nine industry experts, green business owners and state officials, addressed the audience of about 200 people as they discussed green jobs, clean energy and sustainable development. Selected for our work in energy efficiency, TerraLogos joined other experts from the solar, energy management, investment and environmental remediation industries.
The green jobs sector has been on a growth curve for over a decade.
Since 1998, green jobs grew 2.5 times faster than the rest of the
economy. Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development
projects the addition of 100,000 new green jobs by 2015 in the state.
Currently, there are about 75,000 such jobs in Maryland.
At TerraLogos, we fully support the recommendations of the Task Force, and used our inclusion in the Roundtable to urge our state officials to bring a sense of urgency to their actions. "Increasing the energy efficiency in our buildings is one of the biggest
opportunities for jobs there is," said Peter Van Buren, president of
TerraLogos Energy Group. "And it comes in an
industry that is suffering from intense unemployment right now - the
construction industry ... so we can put these people back to work
locally and nationally through focusing on improving the energy
efficiency of our buildings."
Now is the time to ramp up the speed of our conversion to a clean energy economy.
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Ductless in Baltimore
Doctor Heal Thyself Part 3: New HVAC System
|  As some readers may recall from our last issue, we have started making energy improvements to our 1870s Baltimore rowhouse. As is typical for many of our customers, the first place to start was air sealing and insulation. (See photos of the sealing & insulation project here.)
The Energy Efficiency Report from our audit identified our building's primary issues as high air leakage (over twice the target rate) and minimal insulation levels in particular areas.
Since our building was built before air conditioning, a central air system had never been installed. Instead, 10 separate window and thru-the-wall units supplied the AC for the building. These units were inefficient compared to currently available systems and greatly contributed to air leaks, drafts and energy losses in winter.
So we removed the AC units, bricked-up the openings and then brought in the air sealing & insulation crew. That was last winter.
This spring we installed a ductless, mini-split heat pump system (see photos of ductless install here) to supply room-by-room zoned air conditioning for the building. We chose this system for its super high-efficiency and ease of installation. Without ducts, there was no need for bulkheads or other disturbance to fine spaces of our old building.
Our new system is really quiet, and the office and apartments are so much more comfortable than they have ever been before, even in the intense heat.
This installation was performed using the JIT management system - just in time! - as this incredibly hot summer dropped on us. We have already seen a big reduction in our cooling bills. Going ductless is great!
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Making a Difference
Helping Homeowners with Limited Incomes
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TerraLogos Energy Group is a proud partner in two local programs that help homeowners with limited income improve the energy performance of their homes.
The first focused on homes in Annapolis and was managed by Edison|Wright with funding from the MEA. Completed in May, the program helped ten homeowners reduce their energy use by 25% or more using a very tight budget. TerraLogos performed all the energy audits and contracting for this project with the help of our home performance sub-contractors.
The Baltimore County Office of Community Conservation manages the second project, which is on-going. The map above highlights the homes involved. These homes often required significant rehab and repair work before energy efficiency could be addressed. We have completed audits and energy improvement projects for nine homes so far, with six more currently on the road to energy reductions.
In both programs, TerraLogos Energy Group acted as the general home performance contractor for a wide variety of improvements, including air sealing, insulation, HVAC, plumbing and roofing along with others.
We're very proud to report that with the help of our trained energy performance subcontractors, these 19 homes are now projected to consume 30% less energy after completing upgrades costing an average of $11,700/home.
Additional thanks, of course, to Edison|Wright and the Baltimore County Office of Community Conservation for making all of this possible. With the ever-rising costs of energy, these neighbors will continue to realize savings for years to come.
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Cool Roofs
Energy Saving Product
|  Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu is hot on cool roofs and so are we.
"Cool roofs are one of the quickest and lowest cost ways we can
reduce our global carbon emissions and begin the hard work of slowing
climate change," Dr. Chu said in a statement about his new mandate that all new roofs on Energy Department buildings be either white or reflective. (Read more here)
Eventually, the time comes to all flat roofs when another layer of sealant just won't do the job. Then, you need a complete tear-down. And that time had come for the roof of our 1870's rowhouse. (see photos here)
We removed over 8 tons of old roofing material taking the roof down to the deck. Then, like Chu suggests, we installed a new ENERGY STAR Cool Roof made of extremely durable, white TPO welded sheets. You can see the rolls of this material being spread over the roof in the photo above.
If your roof needs a tear down, then definitely consider replacement with a Cool Roof system, such as the one we chose. There are ENERGY STAR rated systems available for both flat roofs like ours, and sloped roofs with composite shingles.
If you don't need to do a full replacement, flat roofs can be painted with a white elastomeric coating that is inexpensive and cost-effective. Since our carriage house roof was in good shape, our roofers coated the roof for a small fraction of the cost of the main roof tear down.Now we have Cool Roofs on both our buildings and are already seeing cooler indoor temperatures. That's a BIG benefit considering the heat wave we are having - lower indoor temps mean lower AC bills. In addition, Cool Roofs reduce
the "Urban Heat Island Effect", which makes cities like Baltimore 2-5
degrees hotter in summer than the suburbs. |
| What We Do
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TerraLogos provides energy improvement contracting to find and fix the hidden energy leaks that cause high energy bills and make buildings uncomfortable.
Our process begins with a BPI Certified Energy Audit. The resulting report targets energy use reduction. But it's a 5-step process:
- We accurately diagnose the energy issues of your home or building;
- We create a cost-effective, prioritized treatment plan specific to your property;
- We properly perform your recommended improvements using our trained Building Performance contractors;
- We perform follow-up testing to ensure that the work was performed safely and completely;
- We assist you with filing for available incentives.
The TerraLogos process provides Maryland property owners with cost-effective solutions to simultaneously
- save money on utility bills,
- make homes and buildings more comfortable and healthy, and
- reduce our impact on the environment.
TerraLogos Energy Group
Your partner in energy efficiency
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 | Cool Congregation
| Congratulations to Towson Unitarian Universalist Church!
Interfaith Power and Light has named TUUC the winner of this year's Cool Congregation contest, awarding them the $5,000 cash prize for achieving the most reduction in energy use.
The
Cool Congregation contest, open to approximately 10,000 congregations nationwide, challenged
participants to calculate a starting carbon footprint, and then compare a year
later after making energy saving changes.
TerraLogos worked with the church to find and fix the energy leaks in their building. Guided by their energy audit, a joint effort by TerraLogos' contractors and the congregation completed the initial recommended energy improvements, significantly reducing the church's energy use.
Read more here.
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Treat Like Lights
| We are real fans of ceiling fans. They use much less energy than an air conditioning system, and can make intolerably hot conditions pleasantly comfortable.
However, just like lights, they only benefit us when we are in the room. Really! Fans only help when they are blowing right on us. Otherwise, we are wasting energy.
So treat your fans like lights. Turn them off when you leave the room.
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Green Masterminds | When Bmore Media named us a green mastermind we worried that we were being grouped with nefarious evil doers, like Batman's nemesis The Joker.
No worries. We are in great company with other Baltimore businesses who love our charming Gotham and see its potential to be a leader in the sustainable cities movement.
Click here to read the article.
TerraLogos also appeared in the Japanese American journal, U.S. Frontline. We are honored to be included in a foreign audience
publication, though we need some help translating what the article says.
Here's the article. Please help us out, if you can translate.
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Dream Home
| We do love our old rowhouse. So we were very pleased when the Baltimore Sun wrote an article about 1500 Bolton Street for their Dream Home feature.
Living and working in a piece of old Baltimore is a dream.
Read the full article here.
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Welcome ZipCar | Zipcar has finally arrived in Baltimore, and they're running a
membership special for their first month in town!
If you sign up for
Zipcar with the promotional code CHARMCITYZIP, you'll receive 1/2 off
your first year annual fee and $75 in driving credit. This promo code
expires July 31, so make sure to click here to the Zipcar website and join today!
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Follow Us |
We are now on Facebook and Twitter. Please click the "f" above to become a fan of TerraLogos on Facebook.
And click the "t" below to follow us on Twitter.
We will feature the latest information on energy efficiency both locally and nationally.
Look for our Blog on energy efficiency topics to start shortly.
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